Overview
- Max Verstappen qualified on pole in 1:22.07 at Yas Marina, with Lando Norris second and Oscar Piastri third; George Russell starts fourth and Charles Leclerc fifth.
- Hamilton’s difficult season continued as he crashed in final practice and was eliminated in Q1, leaving him 16th on the grid.
- The title fight is three-way: Norris leads on 408 points ahead of Verstappen on 396 and Piastri on 392, with 25 points available in Sunday’s race.
- Key scenarios: Norris is champion with at least third place; Verstappen needs to win with Norris no better than fourth; Piastri’s path largely requires a win with Norris sixth or lower.
- Friday running featured Norris topping both practice sessions and a brief radio flashpoint with Verstappen (“We risk a crash”), which drew no investigation; the race starts Sunday at 14:00 Italian time live on Sky, with a delayed free-to-air replay on TV8.